A group set up to bring paedophiles to justice has defended its methods after courtroom concerns.

The techniques employed by vigilante paedophile hunter group Dark Justice were questioned in the case of Teesside sex offender Terrance Coleman.

Coleman, 62, was given a two year community order, with 30 days rehabilitation activity, after admitting a charge of attempting to communicate with a child sexually. He was given a sexual harm prevention order governing internet use and will be on the sex offenders’ register, both for five years.

But the “child” was, in fact, a Dark Justice member, pretending to be a 15-year-old girl by using a fake profile and girl’s picture.

Judge Stephen Ashurst said it was a valid point that “the progression of the talk, the introduction of more sexual talk”, was the responsibility of the man from Dark Justice. He also said it was different to other cases of its type in that Coleman did not arrange a meeting, even though “Dark Justice were repeatedly asking you to do so.”

Coleman’s lawyer, Aisha Wadoodi, said: “It’s important that Dark Justice aren’t seen to direct the conversation so that they are potentially trespassing into entrapment.

“They need to be very careful they work within the proper parameters.”

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The court heard Coleman was on 16 types of medication for medical conditions including angina and diabetes, and was considered a low risk of reoffending.

But Dark Justice questioned the version of events given in court - and said it would continue their fight against suspected paedophiles.

A spokesman told The Gazette: “Our statistics speak for themselves. It was just his defence’s way of trying to make him the victim.

“What does the amount of medication he’s on have to do with trying to meet a child he was going to abuse?”

On its Twitter account, Dark Justice describes itself as a Newcastle-based two man operation set up to “catch online predators who try to groom & meet up with children following sexual grooming.”

And on its Facebook page, the group - responding to other media coverage of the Coleman court case - wrote: “We will move forward from this and continue to catch offenders who pose risk - this is not the first time an offender has had a sob story.”